Post-Doctoral Researchers in Impact Evaluation
The African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC) is an
African-led and Africa-based international research institution committed to
conducting high-quality and policy-relevant multidisciplinary research.
Our goal is to generate evidence for meaningful action, engage
with policy makers in the region to disseminate our research findings,
influence policy decisions, and improve the quality of life in Africa.
APHRC’s Data, Science, and Evaluation (DSE) Program conducts impact evaluation assignments for several partners at sub-national and national levels from across sub-Saharan Africa, with focus on social sciences within the human development, health and Wellbeing, and population dynamics and urbanization thematic areas.
To this end, APHRC seeks to recruit three
(3) Post-Doctoral Research Scientists in Impact Evaluation to
support the evaluation activities at the Center.
Duties /
Responsibilities
The Post- Doctoral Research Scientists will apply novel basic
and advanced rigorous impact evaluation methodologies to design and conduct
impact evaluation undertakings within and beyond the APHRC.
Technical leadership and
support
· Leading the design and
implementation of development-related impact evaluations and research studies;
· Support researchers at
the Center in adoption of impact evaluation designs in research studies
including complex impact evaluations based on modern practices such as
Interrupted Time Series (ITS), Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs),
cluster-randomized designs, step-wedge designs among others;
· Develop and deepen
innovative approaches to impact evaluation e.g., through training of
researchers at the Center in IE methodology, developing and writing papers that
utilize IE methodologies in peer-reviewed journals, engaging with IE
communities of practice to strengthen the Center’s visibility in IE practice,
etc.
Fundraising for IE
sustainability
· Lead the resource
mobilization for IE projects to ensure that the Center sustain its IE mandate
to the foreseeable future;
· Support proposal writing
and other fundraising activities geared towards leveraging funds to broaden the
current mandate of the Data, Science & Evaluation Program;
· Actively collaborate
with and contribute to the work of other Program Areas at APHRC at the Centre’s
to strengthen the impact evaluation mandate.
Management of Impact
Evaluation Projects
· Establish, monitor, and
update work plans and budgets for Impact Evaluation projects;
· Oversee mobilization of
evaluation teams, including organizing and managing team planning meetings and
overseeing all necessary logistical preparations for field data collection;
· Identify, recruit and
train the research assistants; support teams technically; assist in orienting
consultant team members to procedures for working with APHRC;
· Assure high-quality
deliverables and evaluation reports;
· Support development of
IEs including background and supporting research for ongoing/upcoming IEs and
oversight of survey development;
· Manage IE datasets
throughout the evaluation life-cycle from coordination of local data collection
partners to data management and cleaning to preliminary analysis;
· Serve as a responsive
point of contact for clients, ensure contract compliance, and support contract
reporting requirements;
· Support the impact
evaluation team to develop, review and finalize evaluation analysis plans,
evaluation frameworks, and contribute to drafting of work plans, data
collection tools, and field monitoring tools for each IE activity;
· Work with Project
Evaluation Team to provide timely updates and reports on evaluation activities
as needed;
· Participate and/or
support the dissemination of findings;
· Carry out any other
functions that may be assigned to you from time to time by Senior Management at
the Centre.
Qualifications, Skills,
and Experience
· PhD in Economics, Public
Health, Epidemiology, Statistics, Health Economics, Population and Reproductive
Health, Development Economics/Politics or Public Policy and other related
disciplines, with specialization in Impact Evaluation of development projects,
preferably public health.
· Advanced skills in
econometrics/statistics, quantitative methods, and qualitative methods.
· Ability to conduct
large-scale surveys in developing countries and handle large datasets using
standard econometric statistical software programs (STATA, SAS, R, Python,
etc.).
· At least 3 years of work
experience in project evaluation and impact analysis is essential.
· Demonstrated experience
in in-depth impact analysis methods, and experimental and quasi-experimental
methods applied in impact evaluation (RCT, Instrumental Variable regression,
propensity score analysis, and interrupted time series, etc.).
· Experience designing and
implementing one or more of the following: implementation research, process
evaluations, formative/process/summative research, qualitative and
mixed-methods research.
· At least two (2)
publications or technical reports (or a doctoral research thesis) that utilized
IE methodologies/approaches.
· Excellent written,
presentation, and communication skills; ability to present arguments and
analysis in a structured and succinct manner.
· Strong quantitative
skills and ability to work with large data sets.
· Ability to work
independently; self-starter and highly motivated.
· Strong theoretical and
applied statistical knowledge in particular for the design of IEs.
· Proficiency in English
language is required.
· Working knowledge of
East, Southern, Northern, and West African regions is desirable.
· Experience in simulation
and optimization modelling, and economic evaluations is a plus.
This position is classified under Internationally Recruited
Positions (IRP), Grade VI in our scales.
Interested candidates are invited to submit their application in
English, and include:
· A letter of application;
· A statement of research
interests and goals (1-2 pages); and
· CV with contact details
of three referees
through our recruitment portal https://aphrc.org/vacancies/.
Applications will be considered on a rolling basis until the
positions are filled.
Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
Shortlisted candidates will be required to have a Police
Clearance Certificate.
Cover letters should be addressed to:
The Human Resources Officer
African Population and Health Research Center, Inc
APHRC Campus, Manga Close, off Kirawa Road, Kitisuru
P. O. Box 10787-GPO, Nairobi
Website: www.aphrc.org
APHRC is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to the
protection of vulnerable persons.